You might verify this, but I believe that in Texas, you may consider an intruder in your home as a lethal threat and threat the intruder accordingly. The same parameters do not pertain to meeting a person on the street, just inside one's abode. If the intruder is in your home, then you are in a very dangerous situation.
Give up on the stupid, spagetti western, wild west honor code that shooting another individual in the back is somehow improper, chicken, or unfair. As far as I know, especially in Texas & Florida but more than likely in every other state, there are NO laws prohibiting shooting a person in the back as a means of self defense. Either you have legal justification for using lethal force or you do not. If you do, then the weapon used and the location of your damage on the intruder is not a legal element. FYI, a couple of years ago, an Austin CHL holder shot a suspect in the back, twice, and was aquitted. The shots to the back were suggested to indicate that the CHL holder was not being threatened, but the suspect moved like he was going for a weapon. It was really stupid for the CHL holder to follow this guy and push the confrontation, but not illegal. In Florida, a cop named Alvarez had a suspect at gun point that he shot in the back. The suspect died. The argument was made that the suspect made a furtive movement. The officer was aquitted of the manslaughter charges.
If you find somebody in your home as an intruder and feel that they pose a threat to you or your family and if the intruder has made the gravely tactical error of not being aware of his environment such that you were able to approach him from behind, then it sucks to be the intruder, no? e won't be making that mistake again, will he?
Remember, just because the intruder is doing something stupid does not mean you need to do something stupid as well. In Texas, you are not obligated by law to retreat, give verbal warning, or only approach an intruder from the front. If you feel the person in your home is a threat, then it would be extremely stupid not to take care of the threat when you had the chance.
If there is going to be a shooting (as opposed to a gun fight), using ambush tactics on an intruder is one of the bettter means by which to assure a successful outcome with minimal risk to yourself. Even if the intruder survives, if he doesn't know where you were when you shot him, he will have a tough time turning on you and mounting an effective counter strike.
When it comes to situations where you have to discharge a gun, the first shot is the most critical shot as you may never get another chance. Ideally, you would like the first shot of the confrontation to result in being the last shot of the confrontation...meaning you have been successful in neutralizing the threat.
